The Heart Behind FaithFi with Taylor Standridge

Are you longing for something more than just wealth or success? The book of Ecclesiastes invites us to discover that true contentment is not found in what we earn, but in walking with the God who provides. Faithfy's study, Wisdom Over Wealth, 12 Lessons from Ecclesiastes on Money, will help you find lasting joy through God's wisdom.

You can purchase your copy today or place a bulk order at faithfy.com slash shop. Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Matthew 6 21. That powerful truth from Jesus captures the heart of Faithfy's mission and vision.

Hi, I'm Rob West. If money issues are ultimately heart issues, then we need more than financial tips. We need a heart change that helps us see God as our ultimate treasure. Today, Taylor Standridge joins us to explore the deeper purpose behind Faithfy and how you can partner in that mission.

Then onto your calls at 800-525-7000. This is faith and finance, biblical wisdom for your financial journey. Well, we're delighted to welcome Taylor Standridge to the program today as the production manager here at Faithfy. Taylor manages our nationally syndicated radio show and podcast. He's also an incredibly talented writer, regularly contributing to our quarterly magazine, Faithful Steward, as well as articles at faithfy.com and our studies and devotionals. Taylor, great to have you with us. Hey, it's a pleasure to be here, Rob. Taylor, you of course co-authored our 21-day devotional on financial fear and anxiety, Look at the Sparrows.

And that's where I want to start today. You know, we've had incredible shifts in the market, a lot of volatility. There's just this broader economic uncertainty that overrides everything right now. And I'd love for you just to weigh in on why you think our hearts are so closely tied to our finances.

Yeah. You know, I was joking with my wife the other day that the stock market graph lines actually look like a heart rate monitor in a lot of ways. And so, you know, they're plunging and panic and then they rise when things are hopeful and optimistic. And I actually thought that was a really amazing illustration because people's emotions, people's hope is very much tied to their financial assets. I was actually reading an article about how the rise in suicides is actually very much tied to the rise in debt. And it just breaks my heart because so many people have placed their hope and their identity and their sense of purpose in their financial situation. And so, if money is what we treasure, that's what we're going to follow and immerse ourselves in. And so, if our peace rises and falls with money, it reveals this misplaced trust in our lives. You know, Psalm 20 verse 7 reminds us that some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God. Now, that's a really different context, but you know, we might say today some trust in the stock market or some trust in savings accounts. And so, if our hearts mirror the market volatility, it should serve as a warning light in our spiritual life because scripture calls us to set our minds on things above and to walk by faith, not by sight, and certainly not by the stock charts. So, I think that's fundamentally what we at Faith in Finance are trying to remind our listeners about each and every day on the broadcast. Yeah. Boy, that's so well said, Taylor. This program, of course, is just one part of what FaithFi offers. So, I'd love to unpack that a bit. Would you talk just about the deeper mission behind the ministry and what drives us here as a team at FaithFi?

Yeah. Well, our mission at FaithFi is to help people integrate their faith and financial decisions for the glory of God, but it's our vision statement that inspires how that plays out. So, if someone has listened to the show for any period of time, they've heard you say that we want to see every Christian see God as our ultimate treasure.

But what does that exactly mean? Well, we said at the beginning, Matthew 6 21 is the lifeblood verse of this ministry because Jesus is making a significant point that we will never understand how God wants us to manage his money until we realize that he wants our hearts, not our money. And you know, some people believe that Christian finance is merely about avoiding debt or giving to better causes, and I don't want to speak down to those things. Those are great things to focus on, but Jesus is actually inviting us into something deeper. He's asking us to re-examine what our treasure is in the first place. So, if we give a lot of money away, our hearts will still be with that money because we have not learned to see God as our ultimate treasure. That's why when we see in the New Testament, the Pharisees were giving a lot of money, but they were still being rebuked by Jesus. And it's because their hearts were hardened and their hearts were distant because they were more concerned with religious appearances rather than generosity. So, when Christ becomes our highest joy, giving becomes cheerful and not dutiful, and our hearts become fully his.

Boy, that is so powerful. Taylor was reading a quote from Billy Graham just the other day. He said, tell me what you think about money, and I will tell you what you think about God, for those two are closely related. And then he goes on to say, a man's heart is closer to his wallet than anything else. And I think that really just illustrates what drives us here as we recognize, listen, money is a good gift from God, but there are real dangers that come with wealth. And so, we need to be on our guard and we need to think about, are our hearts devoted to the things of this world or are they devoted to God and the things that are eternal? Talking with Taylor Standridge today on faith and finance, much more just around the corner. Stay with us.

We'll be right back. We're grateful for support from Guidestone, whose diversified suite of investment solutions align with Christian values to create positive change in the world. More information is available at Guidestonefunds.com slash faith. Investing involves risk, including potential loss of principal. Carefully consider the investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses of Guidestone funds before investing.

They're distributed by four side funds distributors, LLC, and which is not an advisory affiliate, a registered investment advisor, nor do they provide investment advice. You're young. You don't go to the doctor that often, yet health insurance is still so expensive. If your health insurance costs too much, maybe you should switch to an affordable alternative. Take charge of your healthcare with Christian Healthcare Ministries. CHM offers programs starting under $100 per month.

Check off the affordable box on your list and get back to what you really love, running your business or caring for your kids, and have peace of mind while doing it. Visit chministries.org slash FaithFi to enroll today. So glad to have you with us today on Faith and Finance. I'm delighted to welcome Taylor Stanrich to the program today. Taylor serves as production manager here at FaithFi. He manages our nationally syndicated radio program. He's also the director of the program. He's also a regular contributor as a gifted and talented writer. And we're talking today about the heart behind the ministry. Listen to this quote from C.S.

Lewis. He says, And I think that really captures the vision here at FaithFi, which is to see all Christians make God their ultimate treasure. And Taylor, you articulated that I think so well in the last segment. But let's dig into that just a bit further. You know, you obviously are a part of every radio broadcast.

So like me, you get to hear every caller. And I'd love for you just to kind of dive into some of the biggest struggles and tensions that you believe Christians face when it comes to money. Yeah, well, I think that big tension is trusting God or trusting in financial security.

You know, it's easy to say that we trust God and to certainly write that out on paper. But when our peace fluctuates with our financial situation, and it rises and falls with our bank accounts or our investments, that's a key indicator that there's something going on. You know, another tension that we live in, and I really respect this tension, is living generously and living comfortably. You know, our culture is constantly pulling us towards wanting to accumulate more, getting the bigger house, getting the nicer car. But scripture is calling us to steward what we have for God's kingdom.

And so there is this struggle too with identity. And I think those are so closely tied together because money can subtly become a measure of our worth or our success, rather than our identity being firmly rooted in Christ. And so that challenge is learning to see money not as an end in and of itself, but as a tool for worship and service and advancing God's kingdom.

Yeah, you're exactly right. You know, we often say that money is a good gift from God. The problem is when we worship the creation over the creator, we need to put money in its proper place. And that is a tool to accomplish God's purposes. And the only way we can use that tool well as stewards seeking to be found faithful is to seek wisdom. Now, as you well know, Taylor, we've been spending a lot of time in the book of Ecclesiastes lately. Our new study, Wisdom Over Wealth, which is a deep dive into this incredible wisdom book, just came out.

I'd love for you to talk about what we unpack around wisdom related to faith and finances from this book in God's Word. Well, I mean, there's a reason that Ecclesiastes is my favorite book in all of the Bible. It's because it powerfully reminds us every single day that wealth, possessions, even success is all fleeting. It even redefines those things for us, because often the things that make us wealthy are the things that are free in this life. And so they never satisfy the deepest longings of our hearts. And so the author of Ecclesiastes is detailing this character named the preacher, and they have everything that the world could offer, yet they repeatedly call it vanity or chasing after the wind.

That word is hevel. And so the context of money, Ecclesiastes forces us to ask us, are we investing in what truly lasts, or am I just grasping this vapor that I can't actually hold on to? And so it reminds us that apart from God, even the good things lose their meaning. But when we see our work, our wealth, and our resources as gifts from God to be enjoyed and to be stewarded, they actually find their proper place in our lives.

Well, this new study, Wisdom Over Wealth, 12 Lessons from Ecclesiastes on Money, was written by our friend John Cortenez and all of our team here at Faithfi contributed. And it's a part of our partner program. We'll tell you more about that in a moment. But if you'd like to learn more right now about becoming a partner, just go to faithfi.com and click Give right there at the top of the page. Taylor, let's get into some of the practical ways Faithfi is helping God's people apply everything you and I just talked about on a day-to-day basis. Yeah, well, we go really practical here. So Faithfi is equipping people to apply biblical financial principles through so many different resources.

And a lot of these have been developed just over the last several years. Our Faithfi app is kind of that first step. They're helping these users create a budget that reflects Godly priorities.

So things like generosity, saving for the future, having margin, and spending with wisdom. And it also includes this really supportive in-app community that just is such a resource. I can ask questions and get a biblical answer from even CKAs and CFCs that we have, Certified Christian Financial Counselors. We can ask questions and get wise biblical advice in that community. We also have this daily radio program and podcast. We have articles. We also have Bible studies and devotionals that we just released last year that are helping individuals and churches connect their financial decisions to their faith.

So we're not just theorizing here, but we're actually applying this to everyday life, whether that's paying off debt, making a major purchase, or planning for retirement. And something that we're really excited about is for our partners is an exclusive quarterly magazine called Faithful Steward. It's a 50-page magazine that goes directly to their mailbox every quarter. And it's just full of theologically rich articles, beautiful illustrations that offer practical wisdom and biblical insight to support them on their generosity journey. Well, we're going to tell you how you can become a partner here in just a moment and all the incredible things we're able to share with you, to encourage you when you do. But let's take just a moment and hear a story of someone impacted by this ministry. There's no better way to understand how God is at work through his word in this area of money management than to listen to the story of life change. Here's Courtney's story.

Take a listen. Thank you so much for this program and everything that you do. I've just learned a tremendous amount of wisdom with finance and how to kind of tackle investments. So you always would say to save up three to six months of an emergency fund before you make any kind of crazy investment.

So I started doing that. And almost to the exact day that I saved up six months of an emergency fund, I lost my job and God called me into global missions. So because I had the six months emergency fund there, I didn't have to be frantic and look for a different job. And I was able to really focus on my ministry and go to training that I needed to do.

And I expedited that entire process and I literally leave for the mission field in January. So without this program and your advice, who knows where I would be right now, but I just wanted to call in and just say, thank you so much for everything that you do. Wow. Well, that's what it's all about, folks. Helping God's people see money as a tool to accomplish his purposes. And that's certainly Courtney's testimony. Well, Taylor, we're about out of time, but I want you to share with our listeners how they can help support this work and benefit from those resources you just mentioned.

Yeah. Well, the best way to support faith and finance is to become a FaithFi partner. This is someone who gives at $35 a month or more or $400 annually. And that really helps sustain our work, whether it's through our radio program, our app, these resources and Bible studies that we're creating on a bi-yearly basis. And so as a thank you, we're even going to give you our quarterly Faithful Steward magazine, early access to all of these studies and devotionals in full access to the pro version of the FaithFi app. You can also certainly make a big impact by sharing FaithFi with your friends, as well as your family and church community.

This really helps more people discover biblical wisdom for their financial journey. So faithfi.com slash give, you can become a FaithFi partner today. And folks, when you support this ministry, you're not just funding a program, you're joining a movement, a movement that's helping millions see God as their ultimate treasure and using money as a tool for worship and generosity and kingdom impact. So if this vision resonates with you, we'd be honored to have you stand with us as a FaithFi partner. Just head to faithfi.com and click give at the top of the page. That's faithfi.com and click give a gift of $35 a month or more.

We'll make you a FaithFi partner. Taylor, thanks for being with us. Absolutely, Rob. All right, your calls are next. The number 800-525-7000.

That's 800-525-7000. I'm Rob West and this is Faith in Finance. We'll be right back. FaithFi's newest study, Wisdom Over Wealth, will help you break free from empty pursuits and discover what truly lasts. Request your copy of the Wisdom Over Wealth study with your gift of $35 or more by going to faithfi.com slash give. Faith in Finance is grateful for support from Soundmind Investing.

If you have money in an investment account, you know sometimes the stock market can seem like a rollercoaster, but it's possible to enjoy both profit and peace of mind as a do-it-yourself investor, no matter what's happening in the market. A short video webinar about that is available at soundmindinvesting.org. Financial wisdom for living well.

Soundmindinvesting.org. Great to have you with us today on Faith in Finance. If you have a financial question, go ahead and call right now 800-525-7000.

Again that number 800-525-7000. Let's go ahead and dive in. We're going to begin in Florida today.

Mary, you will be first up. Go ahead. Well, I just had a question on charities if they have to go by minimum wage laws of Florida or the U.S. or not. Yeah, so you're in the state of Florida, is that right?

Yes. Yeah, so in terms of there is no difference, you know, they would have to follow as a nonprofit, including Florida, federal and state minimum wage laws for their paid employees, just like a for-profit business. There are some nuances under, you know, fair labor standards at the federal level and Florida state laws, but essentially, you know, the federal minimum wage requirement at seven dollars and twenty cents, twenty-five cents per hour would apply to all employees of nonprofits. And then, you know, there's Florida minimum wage requirements as well, you know, for non-tipped employees.

But again, it would be the same, you know, as a, you know, any paid employee whether they're working for a for-profit or nonprofit. Okay, thank you. Okay, you're welcome. Thanks for calling today. Let's go to Michigan. Hi, Craig.

How can I help? Hey, Rob. Well, talk all about life insurance. I have about 130K between two IRAs. I owe about 125,000 on my mortgage, which I have a very good interest rate on. Likewise, I have about 15,000 on an auto loan, a very good rate on that. I have a 250,000 dollar term life policy that ends, I believe, in 2027. So I'm shopping. I guess the question is, how much should, are you in favor of life, life insurance?

You know, how much should I buy? That kind of thing. Yeah, you know, it really comes down to what are we trying to insure against? And with life insurance, the purpose of it is to offset the risk that if you were to pass away before your wife, assuming she's the only one depending upon your income, then that would create a hardship because if your income goes away, then she may not be able to maintain her lifestyle, you know, with just those two IRAs and whatever else you have in the in the savings account. So the life insurance is there to provide a lump sum payment that could be invested that she could use to offset that loss of income.

So that's really the primary thing. And so the idea would be, especially with term life insurance, which I like pure insurance, the most cost effective, the idea would be that we're saving outside of that in IRAs and 401ks and other assets, such that when you transition away from paid work to whatever God has for you in that fourth quarter, that you no longer have a need for that life insurance, you drop it, because there's no longer that risk. If you were to pass away, she still has all the marital assets that you all have accumulated. And she's not depending on your income.

She's no longer depending upon your income. Does that make sense? Yeah, that's absolutely 100% on board with all that. Yeah. So then the question would be, when is how long is that? Is that now? Is that five years from now?

Is it longer? Well, I'm on track to have my mortgage paid off in 10 years. I'm 61. I would like to retire at 67. But I don't know if I'll financially be in a in that spot.

By then I am saving aggressively as much as I can, I think I'm like 13% or something like that, my IRAs. So then I think the opportunity for you right now, Craig, is even while you've got this existing policy that's going to run through 2027, perhaps while you're still relatively young, and hopefully in good health, this might be the time to see if you can qualify for a new 10 year term policy that gives you enough coverage so that if you were to pre-decease her, she has a payout that would essentially allow her to, you know, pay off the house, and also have whatever else she needs beyond social security, and whatever other income sources she'll have to maintain her lifestyle. And that would probably be better to do today, because something could happen where you become uninsurable five years from now.

And if you were able to get that policy that fits your budget and gives you enough death benefit for a 10 year period, with the expectation that when those 10 years are up, you no longer need life insurance. Once that's in force, then you could drop the existing policy. Right.

Okay, that's great. Then is or do you have a an idea on on an amount that I should try and purchase? Yeah, so I think it really depends upon what we're trying to solve for. I mean, if it's income, typically, we would say 10 to 12 times the income you're trying to replace. So you know, if you're trying to replace, well, tell me, what would that number be? You'd be wanting to replace that she would?

That's, I think last year, I made close to 80. Yeah. Okay. So I mean, we're probably talking somewhere between, you know, 750,000 and $1 million in term life insurance. Well, okay.

Yeah. And the idea there? Well, and the idea is, if we were to then take that 750,000, you know, and invest that, and she pulled 4% a year, you know, she could pull 30,000 a year and never deplete the 750. If she wanted to pull more than that, she's probably going to be slowly depleting it. Like, let's say, you know, if you if you want to get up to 80,000, you know, she'd probably, you know, need $1 million, and she'd have to, you know, pull 8% a year.

Well, you know, that money's not going to last forever. So, you know, I think when we're when we're looking at how to replace income now, one thing you could do would be factor in what retirement assets already exist. And so if your ultimate goal is, you know, to have, you know, I don't know, whatever that number is $1 million in the bank plus social security, you know, you're already have 250,000.

Well, you know, now you're not solving for that full million. So I think it really comes down to what assets do you have now? And every year you're building more? And then what are you trying to replace? And you know, we can back into what that number is, that could generate that kind of income per year, without depleting that account too quickly.

Ideally, it would last, you know, well into her 90s. Right. Okay. Yeah. Fantastic. All right. Thanks, Greg. We appreciate your call today. Quickly to Antoinette in Illinois, you'll be our final caller. Go ahead.

Yes, quickly. What's the difference between a Roth IRA and a regular IRA? And the second question is the 401k can an individual open without being an employee?

And what's the max 403? Yeah, great question. So the difference between a Roth and a traditional is just in the tax treatment. So they're both the first letter I for individual, they're both set up by an individual. And with the Roth, you put in after tax dollars. So you make $7,000, you make a contribution of seven, you go ahead and pay the tax on the 7,000 you made, and then you get tax free growth. So as that money is invested, you don't pay any tax on the gains. With the traditional IRA, you put the 7,000 and you get a deduction. So that's now excluded from your taxable income. And then you let it grow. And then as you take it out, you pay the tax on it.

So that's the main difference on that. We'll have to get to that second half, perhaps tomorrow. Thanks for your call, Antoinette. Thanks to Devin, Sandy, Taylor, and everybody here at Faithful. We'll see you next time. Bye-bye. Faith and Finance is provided by Faithful and listeners like you.